Ascent of Sturgill Peak on 2012-07-16

Ascent Trip Report

On US-95 at virtual mile 95.2, which is ~10 miles N of Weiser, I turned W on Upper Mann Crk Rd. Do not confuse Upper Mann Crk Rd with Mann Crk Rd, whose junction with US-95 is about a mile S. Call this point mile 0.0. After a jig, Upper Mann Crk Rd heads due W. At mile 1.3 I stayed straight where Monroe Crk Rd heads L across the dam for Mann Crk Reservoir. At 2.9 miles, Mann Crk CG is on the L. Stay straight, pavement ends. At 8.5 miles, I stayed straight where Road 025 goes L across a bridge. At 9.5 miles, I crossed a cattle guard and entered the Payette NF. At 10.8 miles, I went R at a fork to follow Road 009, where a sign provides mileages to Kiwanis CG, Justrite CG, and Spring Creek CG. At 12.4 miles, I stayed straight where a major side road forks R. At 15.1 miles, I passed Spring Creek CG. At 15.2 miles, a FS sign says 6 miles to Sturgill LO. At 16.2 miles is a fork where I went right (uphill). At 18.3 miles a sign recommends only 4WD beyond this point. The road became rough, but my 2WD high clearance Nissan pickup did fine. At 18.7 miles, the road makes a sharp R switchback and begins climbing away from Mann Crk. At 19.5 miles I decided to park and walk the rest of the way. I probably could have driven somewhat farther, but everyone knows I like to get 1000' gain on foot where practicable.

It was a straightforward matter to hike the remaining ~2 miles to the lookout. The highest rocks which appear to be of volcanic origin, are across the parking area from the LO. I spent 45 minutes in the LO chatting with the couple who are stationed there, during which time the spotted a plume of smoke across the valley, so I got my first view of a lookout in action.